NBA approves sale of Kings to Sacramento group; fat lady sings

The NBA’s Board of Governors on Tuesday unanimously approved the sale of the Kings to the Sacramento ownership group that successfully beat out Seattle investors Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer for the basketball franchise.

Lead Sacramento investor Vivek Ranadive, left, and Mayor Kevin Johnson appear on TV during a Kings rally May 23 in the California capital. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo)

The vote was largely a formality. After the board rejected the Kings’ relocation to Seattle two weeks ago, and after the Maloofs agreed to sell their majority stake in the team to the Sacramento group, all the league had to do Tuesday was sign off on the deal.

The Sacramento ownership group is led by Vivek Ranadive, founder of TIBCO Software in Silicon Valley, and also includes investors Mark Mastrov of 24-Hour Fitness and the family of Paul Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm. In a news release Tuesday, the NBA said the transaction is expected to close shortly.

“Thanks to entire NBA for approving sale of Kings to our organization,” Ranadive said Tuesday on Twitter. “It is an honor & a privilege to be part of such an amazing community.”

Hansen, meanwhile, has said he will continue fighting to get an NBA franchise back in Seattle. Last week, on SonicsArena.com, Hansen wrote that his team of investors will continue to “press forward” in their quest to bring the Sonics back by way of expansion or relocation.

When we began our efforts in 2011, we went into it knowing that above all else it would take patience. The process involved in getting an Arena built in our city is without question a difficult and time consuming one. Likewise, with the prospects for expansion unclear, the path for returning an NBA franchise to Seattle was likely to prove even more difficult and require even more patience.

Thus, even as we are disappointed with the developments related to our efforts to purchase the Kings, we would just like to reiterate our dedication to bringing the NBA back to Seattle. We will continue to press forward with our Arena plans with the same commitment and effort we have over the last two years, and look forward to working with the City and County to see the project through the hurdles that remain. Likewise, we plan to continue to work with the League regarding opportunities that may arise to return an NBA franchise to our City.

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